Upshaw to direct Ojai

According to the LA Times yesterday, soprano Dawn Upshaw (who is singing with the San Antonio Symphony on May 21 & 22) has been named music director of the 2011 Ojai Music Festival.

The Ojai Music Festival is an annual summer music festival in Southern California that is famous as an important presenter of contemporary music. Past music directors have included John Adams, Aaron Copland, Kent Nagano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Igor Stravinsky and Mitsuko Uchida.

In 2007, Upshaw was named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation, the first vocal artist to be awarded the five-year “genius” prize, and in 2008 she was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In San Antonio she will sing two works, Cantaloube’s lyrical Songs of the Auvergne and an interesting arrangement of Schubert songs by Osvaldo Golijov.

Golijov is one of the most successful composers working today and one of my favorites. The Symphony’s program notes explain the inspiration for this Schubert arrangement:

“One of Golijov’s newest scores, She Was Here, dates from 2008 and is dedicated to the memory of his friend, filmmaker Anthony Minghella, the director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain. Minghella, also a musician, died in 2008 of a hemorrhage following a routine surgery. In an attempt to make sense of death, Golijov chose four Schubert songs with texts that deal with peace, loss, sadness, and longing. While retaining the original vocal melodies, he composed new accompaniments and provided an introduction and interlude to provide variety and dramatic pacing. At times, Golijov’s accompaniments mirror some of Schubert’s familiar material, but the final result is a bold new work that is every bit the original voice of this visionary young composer.”

GOOGLE HONORS TCHAIKOVSKY

Today is the birthday of Tchaikovsky (1840) and Brahms (1833.) Google has changed their homepage logo to honor the memory of Tchaikovsky. The San Antonio Symphony is presenting a Tchaikovsky Festival as part of the 2010-2011 season, in which all six of his symphonies will be performed in nine days. We are also performing Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet, The Nutcracker, with Ballet San Antonio in November and December. (Don’t miss Ballet San Antonio’s next production on May 14 & 15 at the Carver Center)

Interesting that Google chose to honor Tchaikovsky rather than Brahms,,, also today is the anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Here is today’s special Google logo: